Apparatus for attaching waistband and belt loops to a garment body



Feb. 1, 1955 E. STANLEY ET AL $709,946

APPARATUS FOR ATTACHING WAISTBAND AND BELT LOOPS TO A GARMENT BODY FiledFeb 3, 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet l TAPC.

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APPARATUS FOR ATTACHING WAISTBAND AND BELT LOOPS TO A GARMENT BODY FiledFeb. 3, 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 flay/2' 75 6472 66 75 92 EUGE/VE IrAA/L Y.JZFssE/THEAP B1! JESSE/T H541 27a (Ittomeg Feb. 1, 1955 E. STANLEY ETAL 2,700,945

APPARATUS FOR ATTACHING WAISTBAND AND BELT LOOPS TO A GARMENT BODY FiledFeb. 3, 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 i 1 41/57 awdkh TAPFC ISnventors fUGE/VEJMA/LEY 172-7555 fA EAP a 723.551 filmy/ (Ittorneg United States Patent"ice APPARATUS FOR ATTACHING WAISTBAND AND BELT LUOPS TO A GARMENT BODYEugene Stanley, Greensboro, N. C., and Jesse J. Heap and Jesse J. Heap,Jr., Nyack, N. Y., assignors to Blue Bell, Inc, Greensboro, N. C., acorporation of North Carolina Application February 3, 1951, Serial No.209,222

7 Claims. (Cl. 112-2) The present invention relates to the art ofapplying a waist band, a lining or backing tape for said band and beltloops to a garment body.

In applying a waist band, a tape and belt loops to the body of agarment, as for example, to the top of a trouser body, the hemming,folding, assembling and sewing steps required have hitherto beenperformed by successive time consuming operations. Moreover, in suchprior processes, the waist band and its backing tape have been stitchedtogether at their edges and the loops have been later sewed or tacked onat both ends directly to the outside of the waist band. If one end ofeach belt loop was tucked in and held between the waist band and thetape at one edge, the other end of the loop necessarily was eitherfolded over the stitched waist band and tape at the other edge andattached directly to the tape or was attached directly to the outside ofthe waist band. The loops therefore did not have the neat appearancedesired, did not lie flat against the waist band and were not firmlyfastened to the waist band unit.

One object of the present invention is to provide a process of folding,hemming and assembling the parts of 21 waist band unit described and forsewing them to a garment body and especially to a trouser body or panelby a single operation.

Another object is to provide devices combined and related to fold, hemand assemble the parts of a waist band unit described and to sew them toa garment body and especially to a trouser body or panel by a singleoperation.

A further object is to provide a new and improved sewing machineattachment by which the waist band is hem-folded at its margins, fabricstrips or pieces are simultaneously folded at their ends around thehem-folded margins of the waist band to form belt loops and the assemblyis directed towards the stitching mechanism of a sewing machine.

In carrying out the process of the present invention in its morespecific aspects, the end of the garment body to which the waist bandunit is to be applied is fed in a direction towards a sewing mechanismhaving two needles operating to stitch at the same time along bothlongitudinal edges of the waist band unit assembled. Simultaneously, thefabric tape which is employed to prevent the waist band from stretchingand to impart rigidity to the waist band is directed in the same generaldirection on one side of the face of the garment body and towards thestitching mechanism and at the same time has its longitudinal edgeshem-folded. While these operations are being performed, the waist bandis directed on the other side of the face of the garment body and in thesame general direction towards the stitching mechanism. During itstravel towards the stitching mechanism, the waist band has its edgeshem-folded and at the same time, the loop strips or pieces are placed inproper position across the path of movement of the waist band and aremoved in the same direction, while the ends of said strips or pieces arefolded over the hem-folded edges of the waist band. Thus, the hem-foldedwaist band, the loop strips or pieces with their ends folded around theedges of said band, the tape with its margins hem-folded and the garmentbody are delivered simultaneously and in proper relationship towards thestitching mechanism.

The structural means for carrying out the one-operational processdescribed comprises in its more specific aspects means for guiding thegarment body towards the 2,700,946 Patented Feb. 1, 1955 stitchingmechanism, a hemming attachment for the tape on one side (above orbelow) of said guiding means and a combined waist band hemmer and looppiece folder attachment on the other side of said guiding means. The twoattachments and the guiding means for the garment body direct the tape,waist band and garment convergently towards the field of action of thestitching mechanism.

Various other objects, features and advantages of the present inventionare apparent from the following par ticular description and from aninspection of the accompanying drawings, in which- Fig. l is a sectiontaken on the lines 11 of Fig. 2 and showing a cross-section through theupper part of a trouser panel or body to which are sewn the waist band,waist band lining or tape and narrow belt loops in accordance with theprocess of the present invention and by devices embodying the presentinvention, the belt loops being shown for the sake of simplicity ofsingle ply construction, although actually they may be constructed fromprefabricated folded overlapping tubular strips or pieces;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the sewing machine attach ments embodyingthe present invention and adapted simultaneously to hem-fold thewaistband, fold narrow loop strips around the hem-folded waist band,hem-fold the tape for the waist band and direct these folded parts andthe trouser body towards the field of action of the stitching mechanismwhere these parts and the trouser body are assembled and sewn together,these attachments being shown in connection with the stitching machineoperating on the diiferent fabric components of the waist band assembly;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section of the: sewing machine and itsattachments taken approximately on lines 33 of Fig. 2 but shown on alarger scale, the multi-ply loop strips being shown of single plyconstruction for the sake of simplicity;

Fig. 4 is a transverse section of the sewing machine taken approximatelyon lines 44 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a transverse section of the lower hemming attachment for thetape taken approximately on lines 55 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is an enlargement of a part of the sewing machine and attachmentsshown in Fig. 3, the loop strips however being shown in their actualmulti-ply tubular prefabricated form;

Fig. 7 is a top plan view of the upper attachment for hem-folding thewaist band, and for simultaneously folding the ends of the loop stripsaround the hem-folded edges of the waist band, the attachment beingshown on a scale larger than that of Fig. 2 and without the waist bandand loop strips to be operated upon;

Fig. 8 is a longitudinal section of the upper and lower attachmentstaken approximately on lines 8-8 of Figs. 7 and 10;

Fig. 9 is a transverse section of the lower tape hemming attachmenttaken approximately on lines 9-9 of Fig. 8;

Fig. 10 is a bottom plan view of the upper band hemming, strip foldingattachment shown in Fig. 7 but prior to the operation in which thefolded ends of a loop strip are tucked sharply around the edges of thewaist band and pressed against the hem-folds in said band, theattachment being shown in connection with the waist band and also inconnection with loop strips of tubular prefabricated form;

Fig. 11 is a transverse section of the upper attachment takenapproximately on lines 11--11 of Fig. 10 but shown without the waistband and the loop strip;

Fig. 12 is a transverse section of the upper attachment takenapproximately on lines 1212 of Fig. 10 and on lines 1212 of Fig. 3 buton a larger scale and shown without the waist band and the loop strips;

Fig. 13 is a duplicate of the strip tucking part of Fig. 10 but shown atthe instant the folded ends of the loop strip are tucked sharply aroundthe edges of the waist band and pressed against the hem-folds of saidband;

Fig. 14 is a transverse section of the upper attachment takenapproximately on lines 1414 of Fig. 13;

Fig. 15 is a cross-section through the waist band region of the trouserbody constructed in accordance with the present invention as shown inFig. 1, except that the belt loops are comparatively wide and of singleply construction;

Fig. 16 is a top plan view of the wide loop pieces of Fig. 15 beforeapplication to the waist band to form the wide belt loops;

Fig. 17 is an end view of the wide loop piece shown in Fig. 16, and

Fig. 18 is a top plan view of sewing machine attachments embodying thepresent invention, the upper attachment being shown designed to handlethe wide loop pieces of Figs. 16 and 17.

In considering the drawings, it should be borne in mind that in Figs. 1and 3, the loop strips are shown of single ply construction for the sakeof simplicity and in Figs. 6, 10, 13 and 14 these strips are shown intheir actual prefabricated multi-ply tubular form. Figs. 7, 8 and 9 showthe devices without the fabric parts being operated u on.

The invention although having wide application in the garment field isparticularly applicable to trouser construction and especially totrouser construction of the jean, overall, work or outdoor type.

Fig. 1 shows the waist band trouser construction produced by theone-operational process and devices of the present invention andcomprising a trouser panel or body A having its top margin a retained bya line of stitching B between the facing inturned hem-fold c of a fabrictape C and inturned hem-fold d of a fabric waist band D on the lowerside of the waist band unit. On the upper side, the tape C and the waistband D have inturned hem-folds c and d, respectively, in face to facecontact and are permanently fastened together by another line ofstitching B. Forming part of the waist band unit are narrow belt loopsE, each comprising a strip of fabric material having a fold e at one endtucked between the top margin a of the trouser body A and thecorresponding hem-fold d of the waist band D on the lower side andhaving a fold e at its other end tucked between the hem-fold c of thetape C and the hem-fold d of the waist band on the upper side of thewaist band unit. The folded tucked ends 2 of the loops E are permanentlyretained in position described by the two lines of stitching B.

The belt loops E are each shown in Figs. 6, 10, 13 and 14 preconstructedof a strip of fabric material having its longitudinal margins folded inoverlapping relationship to form a tube and sewed together and to theoutside section of the strip by a line of stitching e. The loop stripsare in this prefabricated multi-ply form before application to the waistband but may be of single ply construction if desired.

In Figs. 15, 16 and 17, the process is illustrated in connection with awaist band unit having comparatively wide belt loops E. The strips orpieces from which these loops are formed are shown in Figs. 16 and 17comprising a single layer of fabric material preconstructed with hems eThe lines e in Fig. 16 indicate the sections along which the ends of theloops piece E are folded over the hem-folded margins of the waist bandD, in accordance with the present invention. The hems e in assembledposition of the loops E extend at the sides of the loops crosswise ofthe waist band unit and these loops have folds e at their ends tuckedbetween the trouser body A and the waist band D at the lower side of thewaist band unit and between the tape C and the waist band D at the upperside of the waist band unit. In all other respects, the waist band unitis similar to that shown in Fig. 1 and it is made by a process similarto that of making the construction of Fig. 1.

The apparatus for making the waist band construction shown in Fig. 1comprises the usual sewing machine (Figs. 2 to 6) having a stitchingmechanism 11 of the double needle type. This stitching mechanismcomprises a reciprocable needle bar 12 carrying two needles 13 operatingsimultaneously through a throat plate 15 in a bed 16. A presser foot 17operates directly over the throat plate 15 and a feed dog 18 projectsupwardly through said throat plate.

The trouser body or panel A is shown comprising a rear center seam a(Fig. 2), side seams a side pocket sections a and the fly end a and isdirected towards the stitching mechanism 11 by a guide attachment 20(Flg. 3) including a horizontal sole plate 21 detachably fastened to thesewing machine bed 16 as, for example, by

slot and screw connections 19 (Fig. 2) permitting its adjustmenttransversely with respect to the direction of feed of the trouser body.This sole plate 21 has at its rear end an obliquely downward extension22 (Figs. 2 and 3) in the form of an apron serving as a guide for thetrouser body A in its travel towards the sole plate 21. On one side ofthe sole plate 21 is an upstanding flange 23 presenting a guide surface24 for the top edge of the trouser body A. The trouser body A in itstravel over the sole plate 21 towards the stitching mechanism 11 is heldby the operator with the top edge of said body against the guide surface24 of the upstanding flange 23.

While the trouser body A is being directed and fed towards the stitchingmechanism 11, the tape C is fed below said trouser body in an obliquedirection towards the stitching mechanism 11 for connection to the topmargin a of said trouser body and at the same time is hem-folded alongits longitudinal margins by a hemmer attachment (Figs. 2, 3, 5, 6, 8 and9). This attachment 30 comprises a sole plate 31 inclined upwardlytowards the stitching mechanism 11 and detachably secured to the bed 16of the sewing machine 10 in any suitable manner (not shown). A rearwardobliquely depending apron extension 33 serves as a guide for the tape Cin its movement towards the sole plate 31. A pressure bar 34 on the rearend of the sole plate 31 and slidable along a stud 35 secured to saidplate is pressed against the tape C by a spring 36 and serves to tensionand smooth out the tape as it is pulled by the action of the feed dog 18of the sewing machine 10.

The attachment 30 also includes a double hemmer 40 comprising scrollsections 41 constituting side extensions of the sole plate 31 andcooperating with the edge margins of a flat fold plate 42 around whichthe edges of the tape C are turned by the scroll sections 41 to form thehem-folds c (Fig. 1). This fold plate 42 (Figs. 3, 5, 6, 8 and 9) isdisposed above and parallel to the sole plate 31 to define therewith apassageway 43 (Fig. 9) for the tape C in its movement towards thestitching mechanism 11. As the tape C is directed towards the stitchingmechanism 11 through this passageway 43, the marginal sections of thetape are progressively hem-folded upwardly and inwardly over the edgesof the fold plate 42. At the forward or exit end of the attachment 30near the stitching mechanism 11, the bed 16 of the sewing machine 10 hasan opening 45 (Figs. 3, 6 and 8) and a ramp 46 at the forward edge ofsaid opening defined by an edge of the throat plate 15 to guide thehemfolded tape C into face to face contact with the top margin a of thetrouser body A.

For delivering the waist band D towards the stitching mechanism 11 andat the same time hem-folding its longitudinal margins and folding theends of the belt loop strips E around the hem-folds d of said waistband, there is provided an attachment 50 (Figs. 2, 3, 6, 7, 8 and 10 to14) disposed above the path of movement of the trouser body A. Thisattachment 50 comprises a mount- 1ng bracket 51 disposed on one side ofthe guiding attachment 20, so as not to interfere with the passage ofthe trouser body a therethrough and having a foot 52 which is seated onthe bed 16 of the sewing machine 10 and which is removably fastenedthereto. For fastening this attachment to the bed 16, the bracket foot52 has an elongated slot 53 for receiving a screw 54 threaded nto sandbed. The attachment 50 can thereby be adusted along the bed 16 in thegeneral direction of feed of the waist band D, to bring the exit end ofsaid attachment closer to or farther away from the field of action ofthe stltching mechanism 11 according to the overall thickness of thewaist band unit to be formed. To hold the attachment 50 against swingingmovement about the screw 54, the forward end of the bracket foot 52 isprovlded with an elongated notch 55 receiving a pin 56 proecting fromthe bed 16.

Secured to the upper end of the bracket 51 is an inclined frame plate 57to which is soldered or otherwise affixed a sole plate 58 extendingobliquely downwardly towards the stitching mechanism 11 and serving as asupport for the waist band D in its travel towards the stitchingmechanism. At the entrance or rear end of the sole plate 58, there isprovided a pair of side upstandmg guide flanges 61 forming with the soleplate a channel for receiving the waist band D before being hem-folded.The distance between these guide flanges 61 is just a little larger thanthe width of the waist band D before it is hem-folded, so that the waistband is guided in proper transverse relationship with respect to thestitching mechanism 11 and the other waist band elements being fedtowards said stitching mechanism.

Associated with the sole plate 58 is a hemmer blade 64 having its rearor entrance end reversely bent to form a turned edge 65 over which thefingers of the operator can move without being cut or otherwise injuredin feeding the loop strips over said hemmer blade, as will be more fullydescribed. The hemmer blade 64 is parallel to and spaced above the soleplate 58 to define therewith a passageway 66, Figs. l1 and 12, for thewaist band D and has its longitudinal marginal sections turneddownwardly and inwardly around the edges of the sole plate 58 to formhemmer scrolls 68. The sole plate 58 tapers towards a rectangularforward end section 70 (Figs. 3, 6, 7, 30) thereof and the hemmerscrolls 68 correspondingly converge towards said plate section and arecontoured in a manner well known in the hemming art to form acutehem-folds a in the waist band D. The hemmer blade 64 including itsscroll sections 68 terminates at 71 (Figs. 2, 3, 6, 7, 8 and at the rearend of the sole plate section 70, so that as the waist band D emergesfrom the passageway 66, it slides over the plate section 70 with thehemfolds d exposed and turned downwardly and inwardly over the edges ofsaid plate section.

To facilitate the threading of the waist band D through the passageway66 and to afford means by which the waist band can be straightened outin case it tends to clog or choke in said passageway, the hemmer blade64 has an elongated finger slot 72 extending centrally therealong. Bymeans of this slot 72, the operator may apply finger pressure to thewaist band D in the passageway 66 and help it along the sole plate 58until the band emerges from the outlet end of the hemmer scrolls 68 orhas been straightened out sufiiciently to permit the band to travelsmoothly towards the stitching mechanism 11.

The attachment 50 is also provided with means whereby the loop strips Eas they are pushed along the body 74 of the hemmer blade 64 are turneddownwardly and folded loosely around the hem-folded edges of the waistband D, while the hem-folds d are being formed on said waist band. Themeans for performing this operation comprises a pair of triangular wingplates 73 (Figs. 7, 11, 12, 13) soldered or otherwise secured to thesides of the body 74 of the hemmer blade 64, respectively, above itsscroll sections 68 and forming side extensions of said blade body flushtherewith. Soldered or otherwise secured to the sides of the sole plate58 are folders 75 in the form of blades of C-shaped cross-sectionextending along and around the longitudinal converging edges of the wingplates 73, respectively, and serving to fold the ends of the loop stripsE downwardly and inwardly around said plate edges. These folders 75 havetheir undersides cut away at 76 (Fig. 10) to permit the ends of the loopstrips B being folded to emerge from said folders and terminate at theirforward ends with the forward end of the hemmer blade 64 at 71. As theloop strips E are pushed along the body 74 of the hemmer blade 64, theyare separated from the waist band D by said blade body, so that the endsof the travelling strips are progressively turned downwardly and looselyinwardly by the folders 75 around the edges of the wing plates 73,without interference from said waist band. As the loop strips E emergefrom the exit ends of the folders 75, they will be laid on to theexposed section of the waist band D on the forward end section 70 of thesole plate 58 and will be turned downwardly and inwardly around thehem-folds d of the waist band D in contact therewith and in properrelationship to the band. At that instant, the folds at the ends of thestrips E are not laid close to the body of the waist band D. In order topress these strip folds close to and sharply against the underside ofthe hemfolds d of the waist band D, there is provided a pair of foldtucking fingers 80 (Figs. 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 10, 14) on the underside of thesole plate 58 pivotally connected at one end 81 (Fig. 10) to a support82 secured by soldering or any other suitable means to the frame plate57. The other operative ends of these fold tucking fingers 80 arebevelled to provide pressing edges 83 and are moved edgewise in and outof operative position simultaneously by means comprising a hand lever 84pivoted between the fingers at 85 to the support 82 and a toggleconnection between said lever and said fingers. The lever 84 projectsfrom the right side of the attachment 50 (Pig. 2) in 8 easily accessibleposition for convenient manipulation, as the operator faces the sewingmachine 10 in front of the dilferent attachments 20, 30 and 50 and isguided for movement forwardly and rearwardly in a slot 86 (Figs. 3 and8) of a guide block 87 (Figs. 3, 8 and 10) secured to the bracket 51. Aspring 88 connected at its ends to the bracket 51 and the lever 84 urgessaid lever towards rearward inoperative position shown in Figs. 2 and10.

The toggle connection between the lever 84 and the fingers 80 comprisesa pair of links 90 (Figs. 9, 10, 12) pivotally connected at one end tosaid lingers and pivotally knee-joined at the other end to a cross-head91 slidable in a guide 92 secured to the underside of the sole plate 58.Pivotally connected to the cross-head 91 at the gneejglnction of thelinks 90 and to the lever 84 is a With the toggle mechanism described,while the lever 84 is in rearward position shown in Figs. 2 and 10, thetwo fold tucking fingers 80 are spread apart in inactive position. Whenit is desired to move the operative ends of the fingers 80 toward eachother to tuck and press the loosely folded ends of a loop strip Elocated over the forward end section 70 of the sole plate 58 snuglyclose to the hem-folds d of the waist band D on said plate section thelever 84 is moved against the action of the spring 88 from the positionshown in Fig. 2 forward and from the position shown in Fig, 10,clockwise about its pivotal support at 85. By this operation, the foldtucking fingers 80 are brought inwardly towards each other at theiroperative ends through the toggle connections 90, 91 and 93, so that thedownwardly turned or loosely folded ends of the loop strip E are pressedupwardly and snugly against the hem-folds d of the waist band D, asshown in Fig. 13.

When the lever 84 is moved forward (Fig. 2) to bring the operative endsof the fold tucking fingers 80 into position shown in Fig. 13 to pressthe end strip folds against the hem-folds a of the waist band D, a latchdevice comes into operation to hold the lever 84 in this forwardfold-pressing position, until manually released. This latch devicecomprises a catch piece (Figs. 2, 7, 10) pivoted at 101 to one side ofthe block 87 for angular movement up and down about a horizontal axisand urged into raised position by means of a spring 102. This catchpiece 100 has a step defining a stop or shoulder 103 which engages theedge of the lever 84 automatically when said lever is pushed forwardinto fold tucking position and holds it in said position until saidcatch piece is depressed. The depression of this catch piece 100 movesthe shoulder 103 out of engagement with the lever 84 and permits saidlever to be retracted into inoperative position by the action of thespring 88 and the fold tucking fingers 88 to be moved apart at theiroperating ends.

In the operation of the devices described, the operator sits in front ofthe attachments 20, 30 and 50 (at the lower end of Fig. 2 or at theright of Figs. 3 and 8) and faces the stitching mechanism 11. Once thetape C is started through the hemmer attachment 30, it requires noattention from the operator and will automatically be fed in thedirection indicated by the arrow towards the stitching mechanism 11 andsimultaneously hem-folded. At the same time, the trouser body A is beingdirected by hand along the guide attachment 20 in the direction of thearrow towards the stitching mechanism 11. This guiding operation can beconveniently performed by the operator through his left hand. At thesame time, the waist band D is being automatically fed towards thestitching mechanism 11 and hem-folded by the hemmer and folderattachment 50. During this activity, while the lever 84 is in theinoperative rearward position shown in Figs. 2 and 10, the operator withhis right hand inserts a loop strip E on the body 74 of the hemmer blade64 cross-wise of the direction of movement of the waist band D throughthe attachment 50 and pushes the strip along said blade body in saiddirection, causing the ends of the strip to be folded loosely downwardand inward by the side folders 75. When the strip E has been moved tothe forward end of the body 74 of the hemmer blade 64, the operatorholds the folded strip until the desired section of the waist band D towhich the strip is to be attached, as indicated, for example, by a chalkmark on said waist band, emerges from the hemmer scroll sections 68 andis riding in exposed position on the forward end section 70 of the soleplate 58. At that instant, the operator pushes the folded strip E ontothe exposed section of the waist band D and immediately thereafter, withhis right hand moves the lever 84 forward against the action of thespring 88. This causes the two operative ends of the fold tuckingfingers 80 to move inwardly toward each other from the position shown inFig. 10 to the position shown in Figs. 13 and 14 and to press the endfolds of the strip E snugly against the hem-folds d of the waist band D.The fingers 80 are retained in this operative position automatically bythe stop action of the catch piece 100 on said lever and hold the stripend folds in this position until the strip has been moved into the toeof the presser foot 17, as shown in Fig. 6. The fingers 80 do not exertsufficient pressure to interfere with the feed movement of the assembledwaist band D and folded strip E towards the stitching mechanism and tocause relative displacement of these fabric parts. While the assembledwaist band D and tucked strip E are being moved by the feed mechanism ofthe sewing machine 10 toward the stitching mechanism 11, the operatormay be readying the next strip E along the hemmer blade 64. After thetucked strip has been moved close to sewing position, the operatordepresses the catch piece 100 with his right hand and releases the lever84 for return to rearward inoperative position under the action of thespring 88. This moves the fold tucking fingers 80 apart and in positionfor the next assembly operation.

The trouser body A, the hem-folded tape C and the hem-folded waist bandD with the loop strips E folded thereon moving at the same linear speedthrough the action of the feed dog 18 of sewing machine 10 are convergedtowards the stitching mechanism 11 and are sewed together by the twoneedles 13 simultaneously along opposite sides of the waist band unit toform the finished waist band construction shown in Fig. l. The differentsteps performed on the fabric parts are so integrated that they areperformed simply and conveniently by a single operation. Not only doesthis single operation speed up production but also produces a waist bandconstruction in which the belt loops E are attached firmly and neatly.

In case the belt loops are of the wide type shown in Figs. 15, 16 and17, the hemmer and folder attachment 50 shown in Figs. 2 to 14 isreplaced by an attachment 50a (Fig. l8) of similar construction, exceptthat the forward exit end section 70a of the sole plate 58a is longerand the fold tucking fingers 80a for the loop fabric pieces arecorrespondingly longer, to accommodate for the wider belt loops E to beconstructed therefrom and fastened to the waist band D. This attachment50a is mounted with respect to the field of action of the stitchingmechanism 11 in such position that as the assembled hem-folded waistband D and loop pieces E folded thereover emerge from the attachment,they move immediately into assembled position with respect to thetrouser body A and the tape C. The fabric parts so assembled then movetogether into the field of action of the needles for simultaneousstitching on opposite sides of the waist band unit.

While the invention has been illustrated and described in connectionwith a specific embodiment, other equivalent embodiments Will readilyoccur to those skilled in the art within the principle and scope of theinvention as defined in the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a device for preparing and assembling a waist band and belt looppieces in condition for sewing to a garment body, the combinationcomprising a pair of plates positioned face to face to definetherebetween a guide passageway for a waist band in its endwise movementtowards a stitching mechanism, hemmer scrolls secured to opposite sidesof one of said plates and extending in cross-section around the edges ofthe other plate for hemfolding the margins of the waist band around thesides of said other plate as the waist band is advanced endwise alongsaid passageway, the outside of the plate to which said scrolls aresecured serving as a support for belt loop pieces in their movementalong said passageway, wing extensions on the sides of thelast-mentioned plate outwardly beyond said scrolls, the outer edges ofsaid extensions converging forward in the direction of move ment of thewaist band through said passageway, and C-shaped folder blades alongopposite sides of said outer extension edges for folding the ends ofsaid loop pieces over said extension edges as said loop pieG$ are movedalong said last mentioned plate.

2. A waist band assembly attachment for a sewing machine comprising aframe member, a hemmer on the frame member having a pair of platespositioned face to face to define a guide passage directed toward thestitching mechanism and converging hemmer scrolls secured to theopposite sides of the upper plate and extending downwardly underneaththe lower plate, a pair of outer scroll members disposed in spacedparallel relation to the respective hemmer scrolls, a pair of pivotedtucking fingers supported on the frame member and movable in a planeimmediately underneath the lower plate, and means for simultaneouslymoving the fingers in opposite directions.

3. A waist band assembly attachment for a sewing machine comprising aframe member, a hemmer on the frame member having a pair of platespositioned face to face to define a guide passage directed toward thestitching mechanism and converging hemmer scrolls secured to theopposite sides of the upper plate and extending downwardly underneaththe lower plate. a pair of outer scroll members disposed in spacedparallel relation to the respective hemmer scrolls, the lower platehaving an extension beyond the upper plate at the exit end of thepassage, a pair of tucking fingers pivotally supported on the framemember and dis osed to reciprocate in aths immediately underneath saidextension on respectively opposite edges thereof and means connectingsaid fingers together for simultaneous reciprocating movement inopposite directions about the axes respectively of their pivot supports.

4. A waist band assembly attachment as defined in claim 3 in which thetop plate of the hemmer has lateral wing extensions beyond the hemmerscrolls proiecting into the outer pair of scroll members and tapering inparallelism therewith.

S. A waistband assembly attachment for a sewing machine comprising aframe member, a hemmer on the frame member having a pair of platespositioned face to face to define a guide passage directed toward thestitching mechanism and converging hemmer scrolls secured to theopposite sides of the upper plate and extending downwardly underneaththe lower plate, a pair of outer scroll members disposed in spacedparallel relation to the respective hemmer scrolls, a pair of pivotedtucking fingers supported on the frame member and movable in a planeimmediately underneath the lower plate, linka e means for simultaneouslymoving the fingers in o posite direction, a manually o erable lever foractuating the linkage means, a spring biasing the lever to the o enposition of the fingers, and a releasable latch device for detaining thelever in position to close the fingers.

6. A waist band assembly attachment for a sewing machine comprising aframe member, a hemmer on the frame member having a pair of platespositioned fa e to face to define a guide passage directed toward thestitchlng mechanism and converging hemmer scrolls secured to the oposite sides of the upper plate and extending downwardly underneath thelower plate. a pair of outer scroll members disposed in spaced parallelrelation to the respective hemmer scrolls, the lower plate having anextension beyond the u er late at the exit end of the passage, a pair oftucking fingers pivotally supported on the frame member and disposed toreciprocate in paths immediately underneath said extension onresnectivelv oppos te edges thereof, toggle means for simultaneomlvoppositely reciprocating the fingers, a manuallv o erab e lever foractuating the toggle means, a spring biasing the lever to the openposition of the fingers, and a releasable latch device for detaining thelever in position to close the fingers.

7. A waist band assembly attachment for a sewing machine comprising, asupport member, a strip guide mounted thereon having elongated upper andlower plate members defining a passage therebetween, the upper platemember haymg converging hemming scrolls attached to 1ts long1tud1nallyextending ed es proiecting bene th the ad acent edges of the lowerplate. a pair of tucking fingers pivoted to the support member beneaththe lower plate of the guide and extending longitudinally thereof, andmeans for simultaneously moving the free end portrons of the sa1dtucking fingers in opposite directions from beneath the guide to aosition be 0 d th each side thereof. p y n e gulde on (References onfollowing page) References Cited in the file of this patent UNITEDSTATES PATENTS 10 Grasso Jan. 23, 1934 Goodwin Oct. 11, 1935 WilliamsonJan. 31, 1939 Podgorny Mar. 9, 1943 Kellum Sept. 21, 1943

